Pocketman

New Acura (2008 TSX) owner. Love the car, but am not crazy about the ride quality. (Not the first time we've seen this statement. ) To be honest, I enjoy the handling and realize there's a trade off. The ride is not really bad and I'm sure I'll adjust.

The car came with a brand new set of Yokohama AVID ENVigor 95V "High Performance" tires. OEM is the Michelin Primacy MXM4 "Grand Touring" tire. I live in the Midwest so I need good all-season tires.

Will I notice a difference going from a performance to a touring tire?

mrgold35

I had the Michelin on my 06 TSX for the first 33,000 miles. They were pretty good new and had good grip in dry conditions. The Michelins started to get real noisy after a while and performed below average in wet/slush conditions. When I started to notice more squealing around corners once I passed +20,000 on the odo (a-spec suspension + Progress RSB). My traction control and VSA was lighting up like a X-mas tree when I travel to Denver after a snow storm (wet roads and slush). I would only recommend the Michelins for dry conditions and new asphalt driving conditions only.

I upgraded to Bridgestone 960 and these were soooo much better than OEM. They were always quiet, excellent grip dry/wet, and they looked good on the TSX. Wet snow and slush performance was better than the Michelin; but, not by much. I never notice any squealing on corners no matter how hard I pushed the tires on the corners. The tread life was about the same as the OEM and I took them down to the wear bars with about 65,000 miles on the odo.

I decided to give the Conti DWS a try this time around. The Conti has all the advantages of the Bridgestone with the added advantage of 540 treadlife, 50,000 mile warranty, cheaper price compared to the Michelin & Bridgestones, and excellent wet/snow/slush performance. The Conti DWS handled just as well as the Bridgestones on the corners. I like the Conti DWS so much; I purchased a set for the wife’s RDX.

I spent a lot of time reading the reviews on Discount Tire and Tire Rack to see the common cheers and jeers once I narrowed down my choices. I’m not worried about the 1st 20,000 miles on a tire; it is the last 20,000 miles that count for me. The reviews might help narrow down your choices. Other than the OEM Michelin, the Conti DWS seems to be very popular with all Acura owners.

huludicidal

The "harsher" ride quality you are experiencing is mostly due to the OEM tire size being rather low profile coupled with the sporty suspension setup. I lived in the midwest my whole life and learned very early that if you want the best tire for summer and rain, you buy a high-performance summer tire. If you want the best tire for winter, you buy an alternate set of wheels and get winter tires. I bought 16" wheels off an Accord V6 for my winter setup and notice the ride CONSIDERABLY softer; perfect for traversing snowy roads.

My belief is that all-season tires are mediocre (at best) in all seasons. i.e. they're crap.

curls

Funny, I started reading the preview of your post and was going to suggest the exact tires you already have - the Yokohama ENVigors! LOL... different strokes for different folks I guess.

The lower 50-profile tires make the ride 'harsher' but also as you mentioned, the tradeoff is better handling and also better looks. A grand touring tire might be what you're after in the end but realize that most/all grand touring tires are poor at most things as they compromise everywhere to appease the masses.

The Conti DWS recommendation is a good one, but that's IF you want what that tire delivers. If it matches your requirements, great, but keep in mind that many ppl have said the ENVigors are very close in ride quality to the DWS... so it might not get you any closer to your desires in that aspect.

The tirerack.com surveys are a good place to start. Based on thousands of miles of user reviews!

Pocketman

Previous car (Toyoya Solara) had 215/55-17 Yokohama AVIDs. I notice a difference in ride and handling. I've only had the TSX less than a full week. I should probably give myself some time to become acclimated to the ride. From what I've been reading, the AVID ENVinger is a pretty good tire.

MardiGras

Actually, OEM tire was Michelin Pilot MXM4, not to be confused with the all-new Primacy MXM4, which is it's replacement. The Primacy MXM4 is now OEM on E-class of Mercedes Sedan and Coupe and some Infiniti models. See 3-page review here:

http://www.motortrend.com/features/c...ire/index.html

Pocketman

I was (am?) considering replacing the Yoko ENVingers with the Primacy or Goodyear Assurance. My last experience with Michelin was not a positive one. Anyone familiar with the Assurance tires? Also, any comments on "H" rated tires. Tire dealer once talked me into replacing the OEM "V" rated tires on my Accord. They felt mushy to me.

Perhaps I am becoming used to the tires and car, or the tires are softening up a bit now that they have a few hundred miles on them. The driving experience is becoming more joy and less jar. That said, an all-season touring tire is OEM for the TSX, so I'm still considering. Would hate to buy new tires and find the ride not improved with the handling diminished. Thankfully, not the world's biggest problem.

gmagill10

Whatever you do don't get the Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season's. I've had them for 30,000 miles and they need to be replaced. One of the tires had a slow leak that they couldn't fix till now so because of that the tire is overly worn. It only has 3/32 tread left on the sidewall and 5/32 on the center and the other 3 tire are all 5/32. The tires are very loud and it had a pretty rough ride. I'm going to replace them with touring tires and I'm looking at the new Primacy MXM4 and the Goodyear Assurance Comfortred Touring. Does anyone have either of those tires? They both have good reviews on TireRack so I don't think I can go wrong either way but the Goodyear has a 70,000 mile treadlife compared to 45,000 on the michelins.

nj2pa2nc

when we replaced the OEM Michelin tires on our 06 tsx, the thread life was measured at 4/32 on all 4 tires. They had 74,000 miles on them. I get the tires rotated and balanced every 7,000 miles and check the tire pressure often. Now have Yokohama Avid 4vs tires-not overly pleased with them. They were recently measured at 6/32 with 48,000 miles.

jlukja

In my view the OEM tires were good for treadwear and fuel economy. They sucked in everthing else. I wound up replacing them with General Exclaim UHP (live in sunny So Cal and don't drive on snow) and am very happy with that decision.

gmagill10

I'm probably going to get the Goodyears since they get better MPG and have a softer ride and longer treadlife warranty than the Michelins. I enjoy driving fast and taking turns fast. But I don't need a high performance all-season I'm not racing and the ride and noise suck along with the tread life. I live in CT so I need something that can hold its own in snow and bad weather. Does anyone have the Goodyear Assurance Comfortred Tourings or know a friend with them since there are no TSX reviews on Tire Rack since the tires are relatively new?

SAKozicki

I put the Assurance Comfortred on a 2002 RL and have been very happy with them. They are quieter than either the OEM Michelins or the Assurance Aquatread that I had on the car previously. The tread life is good, also. My son drives that car now and had at least 50000 miles on those tires. The tires are still quiet and sticky, even on wet and snowy roads in the Midwest. They are much quitter than the OEM Pilot MXM4 that are on my 2010 TL SHAWD. I'm going to buy a set for my TL, as the Michelins have 67000 miles on them. I think that's as far as I can push a set of Michelins.

Simba91102

He was asking for opinions a year and a half ago, so my guess is he's bought new tires by now. That said, your review may be of use to others here. As an aside, to anyone who might be interested, here's a comment (and a little info) on tires and their claim (or reality) of returning better gas mileage. First, a disclaimer; I'm skeptical of any claims, by tire manufacturers or users, of better gas mileage solely due to tire choice. The method by which a tire can/could provide better gas mileage is by producing less rolling resistance. This, by definition, will result in a tire that doesn't provide as much grip as a tire with more.... grip (and therefore, theoretically poorer mileage). So.... watch out for anyone or any ad that claims a tire handles better but also provides better mileage. The two can't really go hand in hand. I'm confident that one's driving style is, by a wide margin, the most critical factor in the gas mileage that a car returns. Mileage isn't on my radar screen when I pick a tire, but from what I've read here, I guess some believe it can actually make a difference. I guess I'd have to considerably re-train my right foot before any tire made any difference in the mileage that I get.